New Welfare Party

Political party in Turkey

New Welfare Party

Yeniden Refah Partisi

Abbreviation| Yeniden Refah (official)[1]
YRP (unofficial)
Leader| Fatih Erbakan
Founder| Fatih Erbakan
Founded| 23 November 2018
Split from| Felicity Party
Headquarters| Ankara, Turkey
Membership (2024)|  365,767[2]
Ideology|

* Millî Görüş[3][4][5]
* Islamism[6][7]
* Neo-Ottomanism[8][9]
* Anti-Zionism[10][11]
* Pan-Islamism[12][13]
* Hard Euroscepticism[14]
* Social conservatism[15][16]

Political position| Far-right[17]
National affiliation| People's Alliance (2023)
Colors|

* Red (official)
* Charcoal-gray (customary)[18]

Slogan| Milletimiz için biz varız ("We are here for our nation")
Grand National Assembly|

4 / 600

Provinces|

1 / 51

District municipalities|

37 / 922

Belde Municipalities|

24 / 388

Website
https://yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr/

* Politics of Turkey
* Political parties
* Elections

The New Welfare Party (Turkish: Yeniden Refah Partisi, YRP) is an Islamist and conservative political party in Turkey, founded on 23 November 2018.[19] The party positions itself as the successor to the Welfare Party (Turkish: Refah Partisi), which was a prominent Islamist political party in the 1990s.[20] The party's founder and leader Fatih Erbakan is the son of the late Turkish prime minister Necmettin Erbakan who was the founder of the original Welfare Party and the inspiration for the Millî Görüş ideology.[21]

## History

[edit]

YRP was established by Fatih Erbakan, who aimed to revive the legacy of the original Welfare Party, which had been a significant political force in Turkey before its closure by the Constitutional Court in 1998 for activities against the principle of secularism.[22] The founding of the New Welfare Party reflects an effort to re-enter the political scene with a reformed agenda that complies with the secular and democratic framework of the Turkish Republic while retaining a focus on Islamic values.[23]

On 21 January 2023, leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan was permitted to burn a Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.[24] Following the incident, the party protested Sweden in front of the Swedish Consulate-General in Istanbul.[25]

Initially a critic of the Justice and Development Party (AKP),[26] in 2023 the party announced Fatih Erbakan's candidacy for the presidential election.[27] However, the party later backtracked and instead announced their support for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, joining the People's Alliance on March 24, 2023.[28] The party ran under their own list at the parliamentary elections, securing five seats at the Grand National Assembly.[29]

Prior to the 2023 elections, Erbakan was supportive of Turkish government's efforts to improve relations with Egypt and the UAE.[30] Shortly after the elections, Erbakan changed his position again, leaving the People's Alliance due, accusing the AKP of ignoring its demands including lowering interest rates, outlawing adultery and removing rules on gender equality.[31] Erbakan has repeatedly criticized Erdogan's government over its pragmatism in regards to not embargoing Israel completely, and criticizes government's efforts to increase relations with Arab regimes like Egypt and the UAE.[citation needed]

The party achieved significant electoral success in the 2024 local elections, winning 6.2 percent of the vote, just behind the Republican People's Party (CHP) and AKP.[31]

## Ideology and political positions

[edit]

The party's ideology is rooted in conservatism and Islamism. The party was founded with the slogan "We are here for our nation".[32][33][34] They specified that their main goals are "First morality and spirituality, then to design the new world order under the leadership of Turkey."[35]

Fatih Erbakan has stated that the new party would replace the current system by a new presidential system, and that returning to a parliamentary system would be harmful.[36]

The party is strongly against Israel and advocates cutting trade ties with the country. It also supports closing the Kürecik Radar Station, operated by NATO.[31]

The party is against LGBT rights, and has declared that LGBT people are "a perversion banned in every religion".[37] The party aims to lift a law that protects women and children against domestic violence.[38][39] Party leader Fatih Erbakan is also an open supporter of the anti-vax movement. He claimed COVID-19 vaccines could lead to people giving birth to "half-human, half-monkey" children.[40]

## Election results

[edit]

### Parliamentary elections

[edit]

Grand National Assembly of Turkey Election date  | Leader  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | Elections Position  | Current Position

|
|
|
|
|
|

2023 | Fatih Erbakan | 1,515,034  | 2.84%  |

5 / 600

| Providing confidence and supply  | Opposition

### Local elections

[edit]

Election  | Party leader  | Mayoral election votes  | Percentage of votes  | Municipal councillor votes  | Percentage of votes  | Number of municipalities  | Number of councillors  | Map

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2024 | Fatih Erbakan | 2,851,784  | 6.19%  |  |  |  |  |

## See also

[edit]

* Welfare Party
* Politics of Turkey
* Islamic democracy
* List of Islamic political parties

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "PARTİ TÜZÜĞÜ | Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr.
2. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi" (in Turkish). Court of Cassation. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
3. ^ "Erdogan verliert vor der Türkei-Wahl den ersten Bündnis-Partner" (in German). 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
4. ^ "Fatih Erbakan: Millî Görüş olarak ne masa başındakilerle ne de kasa başındakilerle birlikteyiz". indyturk.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
5. ^ "Fatih Erbakan: "Millî görüş heyecanını Yeniden Refah Partisi çatısı altında yaşıyoruz". Fatih Erbakan, Yeniden Refah Partisi Denizli İl Kongresinde konuştu". haberturk.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
6. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Üzerine". daktilo1984.com. 27 August 2022. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
7. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi'nden hilafet paylaşımı: "Şeriat-ı Garra-i Muhammediyye'yi ilan edeceğimiz günler yakındır"". cumhuriyet.com. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
8. ^ "Fatih Erbakan "Yeniden Refah Partisi"nin ilk mitingini düzenledi. Osmanlı Padişahı Abdulhamid'in torunu Abdulhamid Kayıhan Osmanoğlu'nun kurucuları arasında yer aldığı "Yeniden Refah Partisi" Eyüp Sultan Meydanı'nda düzenlenen mitingle tanıtıldı". dha.com. 24 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
9. ^ "O parti liderinin Başdanışmanı olan Abdülhamid'in torunu böyle tehdit etti: Osmanlı üzerinden siyaset yapanlar bilsinler ki biz geriye dönersek..." odatv4.com. 14 June 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
10. ^ "Fatih Erbakan: ABD-İsrail terör devletini engellemek için Suriyelilerin gönderilmesi şart". indyturk.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
11. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Genel Başkanı Erbakan'dan İsrail'e "ilhak planı" tepkisi". aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
12. ^ "Batman "Ümmet Kardeşliği" konferansı". erbakanvakfi.org.tr. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
13. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Lideri Fatih Erbakan'dan Filistin için "Barış Gücü" çağrısı". politikyol.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
14. ^ "Erbakan: AB kapısında 60 senedir bekletilen Türkiye, İsveç ve Finlandiya'yı 2 ay NATO'nun kapısında bekletememiştir". indyturk.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
15. ^ "Fatih Erbakan: İktidara gelince LGBTİ derneklerini kapatacağız". ensonhaber.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
16. ^ "Fatih Erbakan'a göre ha faşizm ha feminizm". 13 March 2023. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023.
17. ^ "Turkish far-right 'unprecedentedly' consolidates voters". 16 May 2023.
18. ^ "KURUMSAL KİMLİK Yeniden Refah Partisi" (PDF). yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr (in Turkish). p. 7. Retrieved 5 May 2024. "Füme c0 m0 y0 k90 Pantone 179-14C"
19. ^ "The threats and possibilities awaiting the gender-equal democracy in Turkey after the 2023 general elections". The London School of Economics and Political Science. 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
20. ^ Kızıl, Nurbanu (2020-12-31). "New parties to have little impact on future of Turkish politics, expert says". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
21. ^ "List of "Founders of the YRP"". Memurlar.Net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
22. ^ "The New Welfare Party has been formed.. (Turkish)". YouTube.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
23. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi milletvekilleri kimler oldu? 28. Dönem Yeniden Refah Partisi milletvekili isimleri 2023". CNN TÜRK (in Turkish). Retrieved 2024-02-14.
24. ^ "Turkey condemns Sweden protests, cancels ministers' meeting". The Washington Post. 21 January 2023.
25. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Gençlik Kolları İsveç'te Kur'an-ı Kerim yakılmasını protesto etti". DHA | Demirören Haber Ajansı (in Turkish). 24 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
26. ^ "GEÇ KALINMIŞ DA OLSA DOĞRU ADIMLAR | Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr.
27. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Cumhurbaşkanı adayı Fatih Erbakan kimdir, nereli, kaç yaşında? Necmettin Erbakan'ın oğlu mu?". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 20 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
28. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi, Cumhur İttifakı'na katıldı". Sözcü (in Turkish). 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
29. ^ Buyuk, Hamdi Firat (28 March 2024). "Fatih Erbakan: Turkish Islamist Leader Eyeing Erdogan's Crown". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
30. ^ "Al Ain Türkçe'ye konuşan Fatih Erbakan: Suriye konusunda BAE'nin aktif rolünü önemsiyoruz!". Al-Ain (in Turkish). 3 April 2023.
31. ^ a b c "Turkey's President Erdogan faces a new challenge from Islamists". The Economist. 2 May 2024. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
32. ^ We Are Here For Our Nation! YRP Department of Publicity Advertisement, 2019 (in Turkish), retrieved 2021-09-19
33. ^ "Erhürman seçimde Refah Partisi'nin sloganını mı kullanacak?". Gazeddakıbrıs (in Turkish). 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
34. ^ "PARTİ PROGRAMI | Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
35. ^ "TÜZÜK; Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr.
36. ^ "SİYASİ İŞLER BAŞKANLIĞI HAFTALIK RAPORU - 17.12.2020 | Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr.
37. ^ Ensonhaber (2022-11-12). "Fatih Erbakan: İktidara gelince LGBTİ derneklerini kapatacağız". Ensonhaber (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
38. ^ "Turkey's ruling alliance welcomes Islamist parties with misogynist agendas - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
39. ^ Aydıntaşbaş, Aslı (2023-04-04). "Letter from Istanbul: Turkey has difficult years ahead". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
40. ^ "Fatih Erbakan'dan aşı çıkışı: Yarı insan yarı maymun çocuklar doğurabilirler". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

## External links

[edit]

* New Welfare Party official website

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

* v
* t
* e

Millî Görüş political parties

Main parties|

* National Order Party (1970-1971)
* National Salvation Party (1972-1981)
* Welfare Party (1983-1998)
* Virtue Party (1998-2001)
* Felicity Party (2001-)
* New Welfare Party (2018-)

Related parties|

* Justice and Development Party (2001-)
* Turkey Party (2009-2012)
* People's Voice Party (2010-2012)

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